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COMMENTARY / World
Nov 26, 2006

Facing real-world economic challenges

LONDON -- Segolene Royal has turned the tables on the Socialist Party to become its standard bearer in next year's election. But her triumph is only part of an intense political debate of the sort France has not seen for decades. With parliamentary and presidential elections next year, the stakes are...
JAPAN
Nov 14, 2006

Speed six-party talks, departing Russian envoy says

," Losyukov said. The major outstanding issue between Tokyo and Moscow remains the territorial dispute over the Russian-held islands off Hokkaido, a problem that showed little sign of being resolved during Losyukov's stint.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Oct 30, 2006

Erosions of a shaky moral high ground

NEW YORK -- To choose the most bewildering action of George W. Bush since he became U.S. president in 2001 is tough. Is it starting a war without cause? Is it creating a dubious court and prosecuting a man for mass killings while committing even greater mass killings? Or is it concocting legislation...
EDITORIALS
Oct 23, 2006

Britons bridle over veil

The phrase "straw poll" has acquired some nuance in Britain this month. It used to mean asking people what they think about an issue -- any issue. Suddenly it seems to mean asking people what they think about Straw -- Jack Straw, that is, the former British foreign secretary -- and in particular his...
JAPAN
Sep 5, 2006

Even without direct say, public influencing LDP race

, Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe (center) and Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki, attend an LDP regional meeting last week. KYODO PHOTO
JAPAN
Aug 30, 2006

Some LDP freshmen decide to support Abe

would like to entrust (the post of) party president to Abe, to be the leader of a new LDP, and a new Japan." Abe, who attended the meeting, expressed his appreciation for the support and said he looks forward to the election.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 10, 2006

Looking beyond the West

Art historian Dr. Charles Merewether is the artistic director and curator of the 2006 Biennale of Sydney (established 1973). Merewether has worked and taught in Mexico, Spain, Australia and the United States and is the author of a number of books on art, including "Art, Anti-Art, Non-Art: Experimentations...
EDITORIALS
Jul 29, 2006

No time to be shy

The Sept. 20 Liberal Democratic Party presidential campaign heated up Thursday when Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki became the first LDP lawmaker to officially declare his candidacy. Mr. Tanigaki's entry promises to deepen discussion of tax and other policy issues following former Chief Cabinet Secretary...
COMMENTARY
Jul 20, 2006

Japan's anti-North Korea complex

Japan's fevered reaction to North Korea's recent missile tests should not surprise. It is yet another example of the emotional way that an otherwise admirable nation finds it hard to separate causes from effects.
JAPAN
Jul 20, 2006

December to see TOEIC speaking, writing tests

Responding to growing demand for tools to assess English speaking and writing abilities, U.S.-based Education Testing Service said it will launch speaking and writing sections of the Test of English for International Communication here in December.
COMMENTARY
Jul 3, 2006

A public-relations disaster

LONDON -- Politicians and officials are sometimes their countries' worst enemies. Some politicians and officials behave ineptly and tactlessly in ways that damage the national interests of their country.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 28, 2006

Japan needs better PR, less whale meat

LONDON -- Every year on my annual visit to Tokyo I spend at least one evening drinking sake in a small bar in Shibuya. And every year after I have finished eating one of the dishes the mama-san has put in front of me, while I am talking, there will be a big cheer and a lot of laughter. Yet again I have...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jun 13, 2006

Fuss over fingerprinting

No consistency The new law requiring foreigners to be fingerprinted and photographed at Japan's airports is unfair.
EDITORIALS
Jun 3, 2006

Myanmar thumbs its nose

Myanmar's military government has decided to extend again the house arrest of prodemocracy activist and Nobel laureate Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi. The decision is another sign of the contempt the Yangon government has for the international community. Ms. Suu Kyi should be released immediately and the government...
EDITORIALS
May 26, 2006

Weak effort to equalize votes

The Upper House has passed and sent to the Lower House a bill to revise the Public Offices Election Law in order to rectify disparities in the relative value of a vote in Upper House elections. The bill, submitted by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner Komeito, is likely to...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 14, 2006

Beware the muted enemy within remilitarizing Japan

On April 30, the Asahi Shimbun reported on the results of a Cabinet Office survey of public opinion regarding the Self-Defense Forces (SDF). The telephone survey was conducted between Feb. 16 and 26, with 1,657 of the 3,000 people contacted replying. Overall, 84.9 percent of respondents indicated they...
COMMENTARY
May 2, 2006

Limiting the economic gaps

Japan is rich because Japanese are poor.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 18, 2006

Dark side of structural reform

Most economic pundits still support the idea of free competition in the market as the key principle of the society. As Japanese society becomes increasingly Americanized, however, a number of "fakes" have appeared in the market.
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2006

Role for family urged in deciding euthanasia

A group promoting the right of terminally ill patients to a "dignified death" is seeking legislation that would allow relatives to choose euthanasia if the patient's will is not clear, group members said Saturday.
COMMENTARY
Apr 4, 2006

Hope dims for plebiscite bill

Now that the budget bills for fiscal 2006 have cleared both houses of the National Diet, one of the focal issues for the remainder of the current session will be how to reconcile conflicting views between the ruling and opposition parties over legislation on plebiscites, a process indispensable for amending...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 31, 2006

Let free trade offset guest-worker limits

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Negative public opinion in the United States was the key factor behind the defeat of the proposed deal to turn over management of six U.S. ports to an Arab company. But the rejection of Dubai Ports World has disturbed America's trading partners and globalization advocates, who see...
COMMENTARY
Mar 27, 2006

No more tax money to U.S.

The administration of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has played down Japanese public sentiment against the U.S. military presence, believing that most people approve of it in general but object when their own community is affected.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 21, 2006

The doomsday doctor

Japan is officially shrinking. Last October's census found 19,000 fewer Japanese than the previous year; the first time, barring the catastrophic year of 1945 that the population has dropped since censuses began in 1920.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?